Improving Conversions Through Concise Forms
For years we have been advising our clients to have us install lead capture forms on their site with a large emphasis on making the process quick and painless for the user. We put the forms in specific areas that will get a lot of eye traffic and make sure that we are only asking for the bare minimum information. You don't need a fax number to consider the visitor a lead, so get that information once they are more engaged in working with you rather than making the first contact seem like a chore. There is an inverse relation between the length of a form and the number of people that will fill it out. Less equals more.
Additionally, we recommend catering to both primary personality types out there, meaning your assertive go getters that only want to get in and get out with the quick form, and then also cater towards those users that are more detail oriented and may not feel like they are getting their interests addressed by the quick form asking for only Name, Phone, Email and Comments. For these users we put in the more in-depth 'Request more Information' forms so that they can fill us in on all the info that will help us cater to their needs specifically on follow-up.
We recently came across another blog preaching similar concepts to those that we've been advising for more than a decade! The great part about this post is that he offers specific stats on how the conversion rates change with different styles of forms and different content requests. I would definitely take these with a grain-of-salt, just because there are always other factors in play, but I still think that this is enlightening:
How to Optimize Contact Forms for Conversions
I know a 26% boost in conversions doesn’t seem too big, but it will impact the site’s revenue well into the 6 figures each year.
For that very reason, I thought it would be fun to create an infographic that not only explains how you can boost your conversions by modifying your form fields, but also shows you the results well known companies achieved through a/b testing their forms.
Click on the image below to see a larger view:
Click here to view an enlarged version of this infographic.
Conclusion
As marketers and business owners you probably spend the majority of your marketing efforts driving traffic to your site. But you shouldn’t just focus on the top of funnel because the greater opportunity may lie with boost your conversion rates. And if you are able to boost your conversion rates, it will open up more opportunities for traffic acquisition channels that you once couldn’t afford.